Thecompadre (Spanish:[komˈpaðɾe],Portuguese:[kõˈpaðɾɨ], literally "co-father" or "co-parent") relationship between the parents andgodparents of a child is an important bond that originates when a child isbaptised in Iberian, Latin American, Filipino Christian and Indian GoanChristian Brahmin families. The abstract nounscompadrazgo (Spanish and Filipino) andcompadrio (Portuguese), both meaning "co-parenthood," are sometimes used to refer to the institutional relationship betweencompadres.[1][2][3]
From the moment of a baptism ceremony, thegodparents (godfather and godmother,padrino andmadrina in Spanish,padrinho andmadrinha in Portuguese, andninong andninang in Filipino) share the parenting role of the baptised child with the natural parents. By Catholic doctrine, upon the child's baptism, the godparents accept the responsibility to ensure that the child is raised according to the dictates of the Catholic faith and to ensure the child pursues a life of improvement and success (through education, marriage, personal development, and so forth).
At the moment of baptism, the godparents and natural parents become each other'scompadres (the plural formcompadres includes both male and female co-parents). The female equivalent ofcompadre iscomadre (Spanish:[koˈmaðɾe],Portuguese:[kuˈmaðɾɨ]). Thus, the child's father will call the child's godmother "comadre," while she will call him "compadre," and so on.
In Portugal, the term is colloquially also used to refer to the parents of both parts of a couple.
Traditionally, among Iberians and Latin Americans, this relationship formalizes a pre-existing friendship which results in a strong lifelong bond betweencompadres. In its original form, thecompadre relationship is among the strongest types of family love soon after one'snuclear family. In many Latin American societies, lifelong friends or siblings who have always spoken to each other informally (using the informal Spanish second-person pronountú) may mark their newcompadre relationship by using respectful or formal speech (using the formal Spanish second-person pronounusted).
A number of other ritual occasions are considered to result in acompadre relationship in various Latin American societies. These may include ritual sponsorship of other Catholic sacraments (first communion, confirmation, and marriage); sponsorship of aquinceañera celebration; and, in Peru, sponsorship of a ritual first haircut ceremony that normally takes place when a child turns three years old.
Compadrazgo has its roots in mediaeval European Catholicism. TheDoge of VenicePietro II Orseolo worked all his life for creating solid contacts with the contemporary monarchs, achieving good relationships with theByzantine Empire. On the other hand, he approximated toOtto III, Holy Roman Emperor and eventually named him literally with the title ofcompadre, which meant "the co-father of the Venetian Doge's children". Otto specially liked this, and became the children's godfather.[4]
The classic Spanish novelDon Quixote (1605–1615) contains several references tocompadres; however, thecompadre relationship has much less formal meaning in modern Spain, where it is a reference both to a godfather/padrino or just to a best friend, with no reference to any ritual. The expression is in use particularly in southern Spain. In medieval England, parents and godparents called each other "godsibs" (that is, "God siblings"). The only trace of this old Catholic English practice in modern English is the wordgossip, presumably a reference to the propensity of close companions such ascompadres to chat and gossip with one another. In Spanish, the verbcomadrear (fromcomadre) similarly means "to gossip," as does the French cognatecommérage (fromcommère).
The termcompadre has been extended in some regions, such as Brazil, to describe a common relationship between two good friends. In theAlentejo region of Portugal,compadre is a term used as an informal manner of address between any two, usually elderly, male acquaintances. In Argentina and Paraguay, the word is used in popular speech (especially in the diminutive,compadrito) to mean "braggart, loud-mouth, bully." However, among more traditional Latin American and Hispanic/Latino families, the word retains its original meaning and symbolism, and for its members, to be asked to be apadrino orcompadre is a great, lifelong honor.
